The Nerd Tales
by Roosie
Summary: Apparently Beca is nerdier than she lets off - Each chapter is one reason why this is true.
1. Chapter 1

_1\. She speaks more than one language_

* * *

"Whose book is this?" Chloe wonders aloud as she picks up the thick paperback from its spot on the coffee table. It's not uncommon to find school books and the occasional romance novel lying around the house, but this one she's never seen. Curious, she opens the book, careful not to allow the bookmark to fall from the pages, and quickly scans the text. There isn't one word she's able to decipher. The redhead quickly realises, despite the fact that she's a self-proclaimed avid reader, she doesn't recognise the book, nor the language in which it's written. She looks up at the girls lounging around the living room as she asks, but they all shrug and turn back to the television show they're currently binge watching.

Then Fat Amy walks in from the kitchen with a bowl full of potato chips, takes one look at the item in her hand and grabs it, "Hey, I know this book. What's it doing down here?" With a frown, Chloe lifts her gaze to stare at her. Fat Amy falters as she realises that the owner had sworn her to secrecy only a week earlier. She tries her usual routine of humming and hawing to avoid confrontation, but Chloe is having none of it. "You've probably just been hanging out with Shawshank too much. You know, she's into this kinda stuff...did you guys join a book club or something?

"This book is Beca's?" Fat Amy nods. "Since when does she know - whatever language this is?"

Fat Amy crooks her neck and squints her eyes at the title page, "I think that's Arabic, I can't be sure though —" The nervous chatter is interrupted as Chloe clears her throat and the girl turns back to her baring her teeth. "Shortie speaks, like, twelve languages. It's hard to keep track."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, girl's basically a genius. Or so I've heard," Fat Amy adds as an after thought, then leaps onto the couch next to Cynthia Rose and promptly spills half the chips over the unsuspecting girl's lap.

Shock still written all over her face long after the girls have once again turned their attention back to the television, Chloe just stands there. It's not that she doesn't think her friend is smart, because obviously she is, but everyone would probably agree that Beca rarely put any effort into anything remotely in the realm of academia. Then again, there's no evidence that the small brunette has actually failed a class thus far.

"Hey nerds, what's going on in here?" Beca pokes her head into the living room, appearing at the doorway seconds after announcing her arrival home. She lets her gaze roam around the room when no one answers, lips curling into a smirk as they fall upon Chloe. "How to Get Away with Murder marathon?" She guesses, carelessly slipping her backpack onto the floor beside the television. The group mindlessly nods in synchrony, unable to tear their eyes of the screen as something exciting happens. "Cool, well, I'll be in my room if you need me. Enjoy!"

Chloe listens as Beca practically sprints up the stairs before lifting herself up on the balls of her feet and spinning around to follow her. She's exactly where she says she'll be, although it's a surprise to find her sprawled across her bed, laptop open and bulky headphones sitting over one ear after such a short time has passed.

"Miss me already, Chlo?" Beca greets her as she climbs the short steps up to their room, the creaky floorboards alerting her to the visitor before the door can be cracked open. "I was literally _just_ downstairs."

Without a word, Chloe settles down on the end of the bed as she has many times. "You know me," She laughs, easing into the conversation. "So, I, uh, found this book downstairs and someone told me it was yours. Thought you'd want it back since it looks like you're in the middle of reading it." Beca peeks over the top of her laptop and then, without offering an explanation, immediately sinks back down to work on her computer. "Also, rumour has it that you're a closeted genius," Chloe adds impatiently, skipping over their usual dance.

"Hmm, I don't know if I'm closeted in any sense of the word. Pretty sure I've been out of the closet since the fifth grade." And Chloe knows, even though she can't see her, that Beca's smirking from behind that screen.

"Seriously, Becs. Is it true you speak _twelve_ languages?"

"That depends," She sighs, "Who told you that?"

"Fat Amy."

Finally, the computer screen is lowered and Chloe can see her face as she lifts herself up and scoots backwards to lean against the headboard. "Of course, I should've guessed it would be her. You know she grossly exaggerates, like, ninety percent of the time, right?"

"Then tell me she's lying," Chloe challenges her and, under the girl's stare, Beca's entire body seems to so subtly stiffen that the redhead almost doesn't catch it. The moment of silence is enough to give her the answer, though, even after Beca gives her a short, noncommittal shrug. "Right, so, assuming what Amy said is true, you're an actual genius."

As though considering it, Beca scratches her head and moves her laptop to a safer location. "I mean, I guess you could say that," She mutters under her breath. "But genius is such a strong word, it's not exactly the term I would use to describe —"

"Alright, fine, whatever. So, that time you _begged_ me to help you study for a physics exam you had forgotten about and we spend all night going over the material. Did you even need me?" Chloe scoots closer to her, suddenly recalling all the times Beca had lied to her.

Beca seems to remember the stressful all-nighter more fondly, a snort escaping her, "Oh yeah, that. You're just so cute when you get angry and once Stacie ratted me out about the exam and you got ahold of my notes, I didn't have the heart to stop you." Then, with a wink, she adds, "Aced that exam, by the way. Thank. You. Very. Much."

"Without my help, _apparently_ ," Chloe reaches across the bed, nearly falling over in her attempt to hit the girl's leg. "What about that time Aubrey, Jesse, and I dragged you to that bar for trivia night and I totally kicked your butt?"

Just in time, Beca dodges the older girl's palm and tucks her legs closer to her chest. "Okay, that time I had a really good reason! You're the most competitive person I know. There's no way I was going to get in the way of you winning. I'd never ever ever hear the end of it and I have to deal with you for at least another year."

"That's _so_ not true," Chloe pouts.

"C'mon, Chlo," She drawls, the smirk back in its place, "You know as well as I do that I'm right. Heck, you're the reason we can't have game night anymore."

Until recently, Wednesday nights had been devoted to fun after several of the Bellas came close to having nervous breakdowns following a particularly difficult semester. Of course, it was all Chloe's idea. She had already been devoting her time to helping the girls in anyway she could, which often involved baked goods. Then one day, she declared the start of game night, to the cheers of all but one obvious protester who happened to be sitting in the living room at the time, and it became tradition from then on. Until Jessica ended up beating Chloe is a card game by one measly point and a whole new side of their friend reared its ugly head. Wasting no time at all, Chloe immediately challenged the poor girl to every game she could think of in an attempt to redeem herself, and, when that didn't happen, she drunkenly accused her of cheating and threatened her with the cards she had left.

"Fine. _Maybe_ I'm a little competitive. But that comes from having four older brothers. That still doesn't explain why you kept this from me."

Their eyes meeting for the first time, Beca lets out a long, heavy sigh. "Because people change once they know. They actually _expect_ things from me and that's just — it's too much pressure."

Finally it makes sense to her and Chloe softens at the admission. She realises that, in the ten minutes they've been talking, this has put Beca in a whole new light. And, when the thought arises that Beca really _could_ put more energy into her work, she admonishes herself and turns back to her friend. "Is that why your father is so tough on you? I mean, he's probably not pleased with your lack of effort this semester."

Beca scoffs and, with a grin and wiggle of her eyebrows, adds: "Hey, I studied _all night_ for a physics exam once!" Before putting on a straight face again. "But, seriously though, he's not. I would like to point out, however, that this whole _college experience_ was his idea, not mine, so I don't see why effort should be required."

"Becs. He's just trying to look out for you. Earning a college degree can open so many doors for you."

After having this conversation many times with her family, Beca doesn't think as she casually resorts to her usual answer. "Yeah, doors I don't need opening." It's out there now, and Beca knows Chloe won't let just let it go, but she's enjoying Chloe's face twist in confusion. "Anyway, this conversation needs to stay between us. I told the same thing to Amy, but, in all honesty, I should've known she'd break that promise. I trust that you will keep my secret, well, a secret."

"I promise." Chloe winks, "But before that happens, you need to back up a little bit."

"Huh? What —"

But the attempt to play dumb is ignored. "What did you mean when you said you don't need the doors opened for you?"

Although expecting the question she's avoiding eye contact again, knowing that one look at the redhead's cerulean eyes would crumble the wall. "I mean, I already kind of have a job."

"At the radio station?" Chloe asks and it's a perfectly legitimate guess. But Beca laughs and she's back to being confused again. As far as anyone is concerned, the brunette only ever left the house for the dark, secluded building on the other side of campus, rehearsals, and very occasionally, her classes.

"Well, yes and no," Beca answers with a shy smile. "I've known Luke since I was little and he took it upon himself to drag me to the radio station to hang out and work sometimes. Mostly I just play around on the mixing board."

"So what is it you do then?"

"How about we save that conversation for another time. New subject, _please_?"

"Fine," Chloe sighs, letting her friend know that it wasn't going to be tabled for long, "Tell me, how many languages do you really speak? Was Amy really exaggerating?"

"Not exactly what I was going for, Chlo. I meant something _completely_ different."

"Too bad," She singsongs.

"C'mon, Chlo," Beca groans, falling onto her back.

But Chloe only gets more stubborn, "C'mon, Becs. I'm your best friend! You owe me this much."

She knows that Chloe isn't comfortable with silence, so Beca lays there with her arms crossed against her chest and waits. It takes a little less than a minute for her to shift on the bed and scoot closer to the brunette and another thirty seconds for her to start threatening her. "Don't make me tickle you."

"You wouldn't dare." Beca calls her bluff.

"Willing to take that risk?" The answer is no. Chloe is just as familiar with her weaknesses and often uses them to her advantage.

"Maybe if you were more observant, you would already know," Beca finally tells her with another sigh, but this goes over Chloe's head. "The bookcase. Behind you."

Her face lights up and is turned, with gusto, towards object in question before Beca is able to comment. "That's _your_ bookcase? I always thought it was Amy's!"

"Hey," Beca frowns, "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing!" Chloe launches herself in the direction of the bookcase and runs her fingers across each spine, silently counting each language. "Beca. There are at least twenty different languages here."

"Yeah, well, I'm still learning some of those," Beca shrugs as if it's nothing.

* * *

 **For those of you following my other stories, I promise I'm not abandoning them (and, yes, I know I say that every time). I'm kinda stuck right now and I get unstuck by writing shorter stories as they come to me.**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this one! :)  
**

 **Roosie**


	2. Chapter 2

_2\. She takes graduate level courses_

* * *

The Bella house is abandoned the moment school is out for the summer, with the exception of Chloe and Beca, who have stayed around for various reasons. They wave goodbye to the last girl as they climb into a taxicab and then shut the door with a content sigh. Beca has all intentions of escaping to her room and working on yet another mix, but Chloe has different plans. She drags the unwilling girl to the kitchen and plops her down on one of the stools while she finishes making the cup of tea she'd been preparing for nearly an hour now. According to the redhead, this summer is going to be a great bonding experience and they're going to be closer than ever. Because, _sure_ , they aren't close enough already.

With the exception of those days Beca has legitimate excuses, Chloe sticks by her promise; no matter how annoying it gets. Then, one weekend, a few weeks before the start of the new semester, she somehow manages to convince her to visit Aubrey, who is still working at the Lodge of Fallen Leaves. _It'll be fun this time_ , Chloe promises, _We can actually stay in one of the rooms instead of a tent outside_. And, honestly, it is kind of fun. Much to Chloe's squealing excitement, they get along. Which Beca can only attribute to the fact that Aubrey isn't barking orders and she isn't trying to defy her every demand. It's as they sit around the bonfire on the last night, much like when the Bellas came to visit, that Beca learns Aubrey is coming back to Barden in a few weeks for graduate studies. Unlike her, Chloe doesn't seem surprised to hear the news, but jumps up and pulls the girl into a tight hug anyway as if it's the first time she's heard it. And after that, it's all Chloe can talk about.

Two weeks later the Bellas slowly begin to trickle back into the house from their various vacation spots and Beca finds herself alone in her bedroom, avoiding the cacophony of noise they're creating in the foyer. Aubrey arrived on campus two days ago and, after helping her move into an apartment very close to the house, Chloe seems to spend all of her time catching up with her friend. Beca, of course, says she understands when the redhead cancels their plans, but after they summer they've had she admits the quiet is weird. For weeks Chloe had been invading her space; worming her way onto the desk chair and tearing away her headphones to listen to her latest mix. Truth is, without the interruptions every five minutes begging to go outside and do something, Beca is actually quite uninspired and unproductive. Once classes start, she is better at distracting herself; the half finished mixes she's been working on all summer, are put on the back burner for a while and, instead, she focuses on her work. And it's working, until she unexpectedly runs into Aubrey.

It all happens quite comically one morning when she wakes up before her alarm clock and doesn't immediately roll on to her side to fall asleep again. With some thought she begrudgingly decides to throw the warmth of the covers off and slowly begin to prepare for class. None of the other Bellas are awake as she descends the stairs and steals a granola bar from the kitchen cupboard. In fact, campus is much the same way, so she doesn't expect anyone to be in the darkened lecture hall when she arrives forty-five minutes early hoping to find the perfect hiding spot. Then, halfway up the stairs to a row of chair Beca imagines is beyond the professor's field of vision, she spots the familiar ex-captain and feels obliged to stop and at least greet the girl once their eyes meet.

"Hey," She tries to smile, a small and very awkward wave accompanying it.

There's a second where Beca's not sure if she'll get a response, but then movement refocuses her as Aubrey pulls out one of her earbuds and the sound of that Taylor Swift song she's heard one too many times, thanks to Chloe, fills the silence until the blonde can gather her thoughts. Aubrey politely greets her back, after recovering from the initial shock, and then wonders aloud if Beca has found herself in the wrong lecture hall.

"Uh, no, I don't think so," She frowns at the crinkled and slightly torn piece of paper balancing between her thumb and pinkie finger before carelessly shoving it back into her jeans pocket. "This is Cognitive Neuroscience, right?"

A short nod confirms that it is and, although there are plenty of empty seats available around them, Aubrey moves her backpack from the one next to her as an invitation for the younger girl to sit down. "So, graduate level sciences, huh?"

'Yep," Beca teeters from one foot to the other as she considers the consequences of taking the seat next to someone who was once her archenemy, but decides after looking around at the others, to accept it.

Aubrey continues her line of questioning as Beca drops her backpack on the floor and thrusts an arm inside, "For the girl who barely passed Intro to Philosophy?"

"Who says I barely passed philosophy?" She slurs, a pencil sticking out from either side of her mouth as she searches for a notebook to write in.

"Last I heard, Fat Amy was in that class with you, and you either didn't show up or fell asleep at your desk."

Beca snorts, almost sending the pencil flying. "Oh right, that —" She removes the object and folds her legs underneath her, "—that is why I'm in this class."

"I'm afraid I don't follow your logic, Beca," Aubrey stutters and tilts her head towards the girl with a frown.

"Uh, it's my dad's fault," She explains while flipping through a spiral notebook full of doodles and scribbled notes to find a blank page. "After he found out about what was happening in class last semester, he forced me to take some tougher classes. He thinks it's gonna keep me motivated or something. I dunno, I stopped listening to his rant after a while."

Aubrey can't help it as her eyes roll at Beca's lackadaisical attitude. "That's great and all, but Dr. Miller never lets undergrads take her class."

"I have a way with words, what can I say?" Beca cocks an eyebrow at her and flashes the same sarcastic smile that's been directed towards her many times before.

Retort ready and on the tip of her tongue, Aubrey is interrupted by the sound of the lecture hall door being opened and slamming shut as the professor enters and is followed by several other students. Beca's attention is lost to the front, even though lecture won't start for another ten minutes, but Aubrey does the same and they don't speak again until class is over.

Once dismissed, Beca doesn't make it easy for her to say anything else as she throws her backpack over her shoulder and stalks out of the lecture hall. Even with longer legs, Aubrey has trouble keeping pace with her.

"Am I going to have any more surprises today?" She asks, out of breath once she manages to catch up and make Beca turn on her heels. When the brunette doesn't answer, Aubrey motions to the piece of paper Beca was studying earlier hoping that will clarify. "Not that I didn't enjoy witnessing you stay awake in class for once."

"That's funny," Beca smirks and reluctantly hands over the tiny, folded schedule. She watches as Aubrey unravels each crease, her arms tucked comfortably in front of her. What she didn't tell the older bells is that her father has basically enrolled her as a graduate student, despite being a lowly sophomore. It took some convincing to get the professors to agree, especially with Dr. Miller, but he apparently sang her praises and the rest is history. His argument, which she vaguely mentioned to Aubrey before, was that the classes she took last semester were far too easy and she was getting bored. Beca had scoffed at the idea back then, but after three classes amongst the graduate students, she was actually enjoying herself. Not that this information would ever be said aloud, in case it got back to her father.

"These are _all_ graduate level courses," Aubrey exclaims, causing Beca to look up from staring at her feet and watch as her mouth drops open, "Neuroscience, physics, calculus —" She lists off the subject of Beca's morning classes, tapping the name as she does, "You do know what I'm here for, don't you?"

Beca shakes her head, "Uh, no, actually. I don't. Though I'm sure Chloe mentioned it in those weeks she went on and on about you coming back."

"Neuroscience, Beca," Aubrey sighs, "I'm in the Neuroscience program."

"Oh, that's cool," She shrugs, mildly impressed with the blonde, before realising the implications of her answer. "So, I guess that means I'll be seeing you at noon?"

Aubrey nods, holding out the schedule to point out specific times they'd be seeing each other, "And three-thirty, and all day tomorrow, and Friday."

"Right," Beca claps her hands and rubs them together, "This should be an interesting semester then."

"Indeed," Aubrey agrees.

* * *

 **Alright, there we go. Another, slightly shorter one. Might expand on this later. The point of this story is to show little moments in time; kinda like one shots, but more of a continuation of the same concept - Beca's a nerd/genius.**


	3. Chapter 3

_3\. Beca has been to college before_

* * *

Beca is busy; swamped with more schoolwork than she can even imagine finishing. So, lately, she spends a lot of time in her room, when she's not in class or hanging out at the radio station. The Bellas are only alerted to her absence when, on Friday night as they gather in the living room for movie night, there's no complaint from the brunette about their selection. They all assume she's being antisocial, as usual, and Chloe vows to remediate that as she climbs up the stairs to force their friend out of her hiding spot. It's not what they think, though. And she's definitely not trying to escape the endless teasing from Fat Amy, who is delighted to showcase all the jokes she's been conjuring up since learning about her roommate's knack for languages. No, the reality of it is that she's trying to finish reading one of the five, thirty page articles due the next day on top of the presentations and reports she's been assigned. There don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get through them, so Beca starts to stay up into the early hours of the morning. It takes a week for Fat Amy to turn around in her bed, sleep contorting her face, and throw whatever is next to her at Beca with an exclamation to turn the damn lights off.

So now, Beca has made a habit of sneaking downstairs to the living room and settling on the couch once everyone is tucked into their own rooms for the night. She wraps herself in the blanket usually left there out of sheer laziness and takes up every inch of space on the table, and often the living room floor, with her papers and schoolbooks. Sometimes, she closes her eyes for a second and wakes up to the sound of feet descending the stairs. More often than she'd like to admit, Beca finds herself peeling pages from her face, having fallen asleep facedown on her notes, before whoever has come down for breakfast and can see the embarrassing state she's in.

One morning, after a surprisingly decent nights sleep in her own bed, Beca wakes up early anyway. Apparently, she realises with a groan, her body has gotten used to waking up at three in the morning and, unfortunately, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling does not make her fall asleep again. She turns to her side, facing Fat Amy who, much to her annoyance, doesn't have the same problem and is sleeping peacefully under her mountain of covers. Turning the light on isn't an option because the Australian will no doubt wake up the second she does and throw what looks like a biology book in her direction. Beca slips out of bed and, as quietly as she can, creeps to the door. She walks past all the closed doors of every other Bella on her way down the main staircase, making sure to avoid that one creaky step as she slides into the kitchen and makes herself a cup of tea. In her sleepy state, Beca very nearly lets the kettle scream the house awake, but trips over her feet and catches it just in time. Her shoulders relax as she finally settles into her usual spot on the couch. There's no work to do this morning and, surrounded by quiet, she can feel the tension leave her body. The book she was forced to put down weeks ago in favour of schoolwork is tucked under her arm. She's been looking forward to reading for pleasure and this morning is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Unfortunately, her quiet moment doesn't last very long. Aubrey, who stayed the night after eating dinner with the girls last night, is the next person to wake up and find Beca in the living room. "Morning, Beca" She sings, as if the two of them being up at five in the morning is completely normal. The blonde bounces across the room, gathering her iPod and water bottle for what Beca assumes is her morning run. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Reading," Beca answers, her eyes flickering upwards for a second to meet Aubrey's gaze. "Do you always run this early?"

"Yes, care to join?"

Beca snorts, digging herself further into the couch to make her point. "Definitely not."

"Well, it's a great way to start the day, especially if you're trying to read for Dr. Miller's class. Those articles can be a real snooze-fest."

"Actually, I'm done with all my schoolwork," Beca smirks, "This is reading for pleasure, which I haven't done in a while, so I'm still gonna say no."

Aubrey finally concedes with a shrug, placing one earbud in her ear as she heads to the door. "Suit yourself. I'll see you later."

Two hours later, Aubrey arrives home covered in sweat to find Beca in the exact spot she left her. It doesn't surprise Beca that Aubrey arrives home before any of the Bellas are awake; it does Aubrey though. She perches herself on one corner of the coffee table with a satisfied sigh. "Do they always sleep this late?"

"Pretty much," Beca confirms with a nod, "But it's Saturday, give them a break. I'd be sleeping too, if my body would let me."

It's probably the longest conversation they've ever had without fighting, but, as the only other person in this house that understands what's going on in her life, Beca is surprisingly comfortable opening up to Aubrey. "Almost impossible to keep up with the work, isn't it?"

"It's never ending!"

"I know. It's exhausting."

She bends down to untie her shoe and, without the pressure of Aubrey's gaze, Beca instructs herself to take a deep breath. It's the only opportunity Beca sees herself having to get out what's been going on in her mind. Aubrey would be moving upstairs to shower soon and, inevitably, the girls would be awake by the time she came downstairs. "So, are you enjoying the neuroscience program?"

Surprisingly the subject doesn't come up in conversation often because, until now, Beca wasn't interested in her own studies, let alone someone else's. As far as anyone else knows, her goal is to get through her degree, satisfying her father's requirements, and finally move to L.A. In the past few weeks, however, Aubrey has had her suspicions that something has changed. She'd never seen the girl more fascinated about anything other than her music, but the brunette who sits next to her in class is a completely different person. Not only does Beca regularly volunteer in class and actually make valid points, but she can barely tear her eyes away from the lecture. Last week, when they dissected real-life brains in class, Beca practically squealed and Aubrey had to hold back her laughter. She had a feeling Beca would eventually approach her, but knew that it was something she would have to volunteer. "It's great, I love it. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, really," Beca shrugs nonchalantly, "You know, I was just thinking about stuff."

"Like applying?" Aubrey interrupts, trying to make sure her tone is one of inquiry and not statement.

The shorter Bella looks up, shocked by Aubrey's lack of surprise or disgust at the idea. In fact, she wouldn't believe it if she wasn't there herself, but it sounded like Aubrey's actually encouraging it. "Maybe. Just thinking about it."

After that, Beca doesn't speak of their conversation again. Aubrey does, however, come over to the Bellas house for movie night the following week and, while the girls are busy fighting over which movie to watch, she sneaks upstairs. Beca is napping, so she quietly enters the attic bedroom and places the paperwork for her application in the one area of the desk that isn't covered with schoolbooks. The paperwork sits in the same spot for nearly a week before Beca even looks at it. It remains untouched for another few days, the thought of completing it moved to the back of her mind while she deals with other things. That weekend, however, she's exhausted her options and can no longer distract herself. Beca arrives home from class, fully intent to finish her application. The decision had been made that afternoon; she was going to apply, she _wanted_ to apply. It's no longer just a fleeting idea. Her father's enthusiasm will likely be nauseating.

Five seconds after walking through the threshold, Beca is greeted by a rapidly growing group of chatty Bellas once again congregating in the living room. She escapes to her room the moment they try to convince her to join them in watching another movie. The quiet window seat in the far corner of their bedroom is much more appealing. She settles down in her spot, after moving the pile of clothes that normally conceals the seat, and pulls out one of her favourite books instead. The paperwork can wait a little while longer.

Beca barely reads three words before there's yelling coming from downstairs. Turns out that tonight is the official reinstatement of game night, which Beca doesn't know because she was in class with Aubrey when they held the house meeting last week. She puts the book down and grabs headphones to combat the noise. They may not help all that much, but at least she'll only have muffled screams accompanying her book.

It doesn't matter in the end. Halfway through the chapter, Beca succumbs to her exhaustion and falls asleep curled up amongst the pillows. Her headphones slowly make their way off her ears, allowing music to escape and fill the room. This is the first thing Fat Amy hears when she enters the attic room to grab her blanket, a smirk on her face as it was previously unknown that Beca is a classical music enthusiast. She already has a joke ready, several of them actually, but unfortunately the brunette is not awake to hear them.

The Australian bounds over to Beca's side of the room, conjuring an evil plan to wake her snoozing roommate. An unseen backpack foils these plans, however, and she stumbles and falls into the desk, making a half-asleep Beca lift her head to see what's happening. Fat Amy grins, her shoulders creeping further towards her ears, but there's not much she can get away with when an avalanche of papers is covering the floor in front of them. She goes to grab a pile to return it to the desk, only making it through half before she's stopped by her own curiosity. "Whatcha got here, Shawshank?"

Still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes, Beca blinks and sits up. She pats the window seat for her phone and turns of the music and pulls her headphones off, but not in time to stop Fat Amy from reading what's in her hands. In fact, she doesn't even realise what papers Fat Amy is holding until the next words come out of her mouth.

"Application?" The Australian asks, eyebrows knit together. "Are you planning on leaving us?" She shuffles through a few more papers, finding nothing of interest until she reaches the last page. "Wait a second-"

That's when Beca finally stands up, the fatigue left from her unintentional nap forgotten, and tries to snatch them from Fat Amy. "I was just - I'm thinking about-"

"Wait a second," Fat Amy repeats, her voice raising ten notches. "When were you at Harvard?"

Yet another attempt to grab the papers fails, so Beca climbs on the bed to make herself taller and tries again. "Give those back!" Fat Amy is quick, though, and runs to the other side of the room where she jumps on _her_ bed, "Those are important!"

"Then tell me what you were doing at Harvard, Shawshank."

Beca's face is crimson as she returns to a sitting position. She knows that there's no reasoning with Fat Amy when she's this determined to extract information; this is almost exactly how the blonde found out about the languages. "This isn't the first time I've been to university," She concedes with a sigh, making sure that her answer is caught in the middle of it.

"What's that, Shortie?" Fat Amy yells back, her hand cupped over her ear. "You're gonna need to speak up."

Accompanied by her signature eye roll, Beca stalks over to her side of the room and looks up at the girl who has yet to come down from the bed. "I attended Harvard for one year. I didn't finish the year actually, I was two weeks short. My father nearly had a heart attack and forced me to come to Barden to finish my degree." She narrows her eyes and stares at Fat Amy as she finishes. "Happy?"

The Australian, however, is apparently not done being nosy. She turns her attention back to the papers and studies them further. "Are you taking graduate level classes?"

Beca lets out a long, heavy sigh. "Yes, Amy. Can I have those back now?"

"Neuroscience?" The request is blatantly ignored.

"Yes."

More shuffling of papers, "And you're applying to the neuroscience program here?"

"Yes."

"The same one Aubrey's enrolled in right now?" A nod. "Is that why you and Aubrey are all buddy buddy now?"

"Just give them back, Amy."

"How are you applying to a graduate program if you're only a sophomore?"

This time Beca choses to remain silent. There's only so much she wants to reveal and Fat Amy is quickly approaching her limit. They sit there for a moment, Beca attempting to scare the Australian off with her scowl, but it makes no difference. "I have enough credits to graduate early," She resigns. "How about we stop discussing this now."

Fat Amy looks a little too pleased with herself as she climbs down. But she nods and instantly, Beca can feel the tension leave her body. "Can we talk about the classical music thing, though?"

"Amy!"


	4. Chapter 4

_4\. She codes_

* * *

It all starts with a new breakfast place that opens down the block from the Bella house. Chloe just so happens to jog past it on her morning run and, upon arriving back at the house, mentions it to the few girls gathered around the kitchen island attempting to make breakfast. By the time the next morning rolls around, the news has spread amongst the rest of the girls and the plan is to check it out for brunch. Beca, who is still asleep as all this goes on below her, is startled awake by a monstrous cry for her to join them. When she doesn't, heavy feet ascend the stairs and someone bursts into her room to drag her out of bed. And that is how Beca ends up awake, dressed, and out of the house at eight o'clock in the morning, blindly following the group of excited girls who are far too alert for it to be normal. The endless coffee and mountain of fluffy waffles helps, though.

Nearly every Sunday following that morning begins with the same routine. After weeks of literally dragging Beca out of bed, the Bellas quickly learn that giving her a cup of coffee before they leave will get them to the waffles sooner. It's a relief when spring break finally rounds the corner and the girls vacate the house, leaving the brunette alone in the peace and quiet. The week flies by, though, and this luxury disappears quickly. As does her freedom to do absolutely nothing. In the cacophony of Bellas gathering in the foyer, mention of waffles arises and the excited flurry of chatter becomes a demand to clear schedules, drop what they're doing, and leave the house in whatever clothes they're wearing. Beca stays a few steps back from the group as they walk towards the restaurant. With the noise they're making, it's likely that they're heard before they're seen and she doesn't want to draw attention to herself. Catching up with the rest of the Bellas, she notices that Fat Amy and Stacie have wasted no time rearranging several of the tables on the outside patio to accommodate their oversized group. Crossing to join them, Beca nods to the restaurant staff, all of whom know the Bellas well and are somewhat used to the chaos they tend to bring with them. As used to it as anyone can get, at least.

As everyone heads inside to place their orders, the brunette flops down in the first chair she reaches and announces that she'll stay where she is and guard the table. Mostly because she's still half-asleep. Engulfed in silence once again, her eyes drift closed and she allows the sun shining on her back to ease her into sleep.

A distant bang and the smell of food brings Beca back to the land of the living. She lazily opens one eye enough to see that she's surrounded by the Bellas and lifts her head in time to catch Fat Amy just as her fork creeps closer to the plate in front of her and stabs the first two waffles. Swiftly retracting the fork with a wicked smile, the Australian spins to her left and joins the conversation as if nothing happened, even when she feels the heat of the brunette's glare.

Other than shovelling the waffles into their mouths, the only thing that silences the group is a man's voice calling out to the tiniest Bella. The speed at which heads turn is almost comical, if those heads weren't turning to watch the brunette at the end of the table. Eyebrows furrow, confused by the smile on her face as the (very handsome) stranger approaches them.

"Hey Dan, what's up?" There's a barely noticeable tremor in her voice, a nervous habit rearing its ugly face under the watchful gaze of her friends. Though it's not for the reason they all think. "What're you doing here?"

As his lips curl into a smile and flash his annoyingly perfect teeth, Beca hears the excited whispers behind her. "Well, someone mentioned this place last week while waving a croissant in my face and I had to try it for myself." Dimpled cheeks turn to face the rest of the group, halting the hushed conversations for a second time. "You all must be the Bellas. I've heard a lot about you guys."

And that gets them giggling into their hands like a bunch of pre-teens.

Dan's lips curl inward and upward into a smirk, which Beca matches before settling back in her seat to watch her friends continue to make fools of themselves. She much prefers this over an interrogation, but knows that's likely to come later.

The bubble bursts as a hand rests comfortably on her shoulder. "So, Beca, I was wondering if you could drop by sometime this week." Her attention is drawn back to the man, along with everyone else's, "We're having issues with the software and I can't think of anyone better to ask than the expert herself."

"You got it."

"Thanks Becs, you're a lifesaver." He lifts his head to address the group once more, only this time they manage to control themselves when the dimples make a reappearance. "It was nice to meet you all."

She waves goodbye and surveys the table, meeting the eyes of several Bellas before all the chairs are flung backwards to catch one last look at him. "Okay, who was that hot piece of-"

"Stacie!"

"That was Dan." Beca shrugs, taking a sip of her drink.

This earns her a snort from Fat Amy, who raises her fist in appreciation, while, next to her, Stacie groans and collapses dramatically onto the table. "No shit, Beca."

"I think what she means is _how_ do you know him?" Chloe intervenes, speaking for the first time since Dan walked up to their table.

There's an unfamiliar look in her eyes that Beca struggles to place. But her gaze wavers, suddenly noticing that there are more pairs of eyes staring just beyond the redhead's shoulder. "Uh, I sometimes work with Dan. We know each other from -" She stops abruptly, trapping her bottom lip between her teeth. The longer she remains silent, the harder it is to finish that sentence. She hopes that the others won't notice her hesitation, but the girls aren't going to let her off that easy.

"From when you were at Harvard?" Fat Amy pips up, not-so-helpfully.

Beca bows her head, knowing even with closed eyes that mouths drop open. A few calming breaths later, she bravely raises her head, bypassing the looks of shock to narrow her eyes at the big-mouthed Australian, who is looking all too pleased with herself. "Yes," She confirms for everyone else, keeping her voice as even as possible, "I know Dan from when I was at Harvard. He was in the year ahead of me."

"Okay, we'll definitely circle back to that," A hint of that smile Beca has learned to recognise means trouble crosses Chloe's face, "What does Dan do and why did he call you the expert?"

"He runs a place downtown and, uh, I happen to know the software he uses."

The answer is less than satisfactory for her incredibly nosey friends, but something else manages to distract them and Beca sighs in relief as their eyes turn elsewhere. Chloe's eyes stay trained on her, though.

A few days later, the same pair of eyes follows Beca as she moves around the kitchen fully dressed and clearly preparing to leave the house. The sun is just appearing over the horizon and Chloe is willing to bet that the brunette doesn't think anyone else is awake. She sips her coffee, watching Beca shuffle around the island in socked feet grabbing various breakfast items while trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Mornin'," Chloe noticeably startles the small girl. "Whatcha doing up so early?"

Beca spins to face her friend, clutching her favourite coffee mug tighter in her fist. Her guard was down, so sure that there would be no one to run into that she forgets how to speak for a second. "I'm - work, uh, going to work."

Chloe takes a long sip from her mug and stares at the girl, who squirms and nervously tangles her fingers.

"Okay, fine, you caught me. I'm heading out to see Dan. Which is basically work, so technically I didn't lie."

"Oh, can I come?"

"I don't know," Beca drawls, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "You'll be bored."

"No, I won't!" Chloe is already moving around the kitchen, gathering her things. It quickly becomes apparent that she's not going to have a choice.

Beca sputters, placing her mug on the counter in one last attempt to stop her. "We'll be in the car for a while, probably going to get stuck in city traffic."

Chloe stops to smile at her, "That's fine."

It's too early to come up with another excuse and Chloe won't budge, so Beca concedes and finishes grabbing breakfast before they out out to the car. Of the two, Chloe is definitely more awake which is evident by the way she bounces down the driveway. Beca swirls the coffee and takes a large gulp, preparing herself for what will probably be an interesting ride. Sure enough, ten minutes in and several radio stations later, Chloe announces her boredom. She's met with no sympathy, however, and no willing participation when she tries to start a game.

"Eye spy with my little eye-"

Beca sighs, "Chloe."

"Twenty questions?"

"No."

"How many words can you make out of-"

"Seriously dude?"

Chloe huffs, "What do you suggest we play then?"

"I've always been a fan of the quiet game," Beca deadpans, narrowly missing Chloe's hand when the redhead goes to hit her arm.

For the remaining thirty minutes, Chloe decides to play a game by herself; aloud. To say Beca's relieved to arrive at their destination is an understatement, until she realises that there's something that needs to be addressed before they climb out of the car.

"So, we need to establish some rules," she places a hand on either side of Chloe's face to make sure the girl understands she serious. "First, don't touch anything." There's no way she can make any promises, but Chloe nods just in case she's forced to sit in the car all day. "Second, everything about today stays between us." Another nod.

Beca takes a breath, "Okay, I might as well tell you everything now so you don't freak out inside." Before the confession is even made, she feels the excitement build in the already hyper redhead beside her. "Dan owns a recording studio and the reason he asked me to come in and troubleshoot the software is because-" she lick her lips hoping it will help, "-I created it."

Navy eyes flicker upwards, silencing the words on Chloe's lips.

"Yes, you heard right."

"W-when? How?"

Beca grins nervously, "so, remember how Fat Amy told everyone I went to Harvard?" She fixates on the console between them. "I got into coding, like, big time when I was there and one day I was in calculus-" a giggle is stopped in its tracks "yes, Chloe, calculus - and I was bored so I started playing around on my computer and that eventually became software, _this_ software. Anyway, Dan's been super supportive from the beginning. He helped me develop it into something and was actually the first one to buy it once he opened this place."

"First one?"

Beca looks up for a second, "Yeah."

Despite the excited energy pent up inside the redhead, she's too flabbergasted once they're inside to make a peep. She follows Beca and Dan into one of the booths and sits on the couch in the corner as words she doesn't understand fall out of Beca's mouth. At one point Beca summons her, patting the chair next to her, and tries to explain what she's doing. But it all goes over Chloe head after: "And you see, this analyses..."

She zones out for a good portion of the morning, half-listening to the conversation between the two old friends and taking sneaky pictures of Beca which, as promised, would never see the light of day. She's not allowed to explore the studio without a chaperone, much to her dismay, so she spreads out on the couch and waits for Beca to be done. Every once in a while, the brunette tries to engage her in the process and, when that doesn't last long, she takes a break to stretch her legs and show Chloe more of the studio. It's almost noon by the time Beca announces she's done and they all let out a sigh of relief (for very different reasons).

"I can't thank you enough," Dan bends down to lean on the soundboard beside Beca. "Dave will be ecstatic that everything is up and running again."

Beca grips the desk with both hands and spins the chair, unfurling her crossed legs as she lands in front of him. "Oh, and what's lil ol' Davey doing here in Atlanta?"

"You know he hates it when you call him that," Dan warns, cracking a smile that matches Beca's smirk. "He was in the area and got in touch with me. Wants to bring in a few artists and record some tracks here. Hey," he flings a hand at Beca's shoulder, "Didn't you have a thing for Sia back in college?"

That finally catches Chloe's attention. She sits up straighter, ears perked and listening to every word between the two friends.

"He's working with Sia? I mean, I heard rumours that he was collaborating with her again, but I thought it was just speculation." Beca is calm, much more so than the redhead and that surprises Chloe.

"Yeah, in fact, they'll be here in a few hours if you two want to stick around."

They finally turn to Chloe, who slowly starts to piece it all together. "Wait, are we talking about who I think we're talking about?"

After riding down to Atlanta half-asleep with Chloe this morning, Beca didn't think it could get worse. Boy, was she wrong. While sitting in on a recording session with one of her idols is not an uncommon occurrence for Beca, Chloe is absolutely beside herself. Once David Guetta walks into the room, the redhead is too star-struck to form words. She gapes at the man in front of her, sputters out half a greeting and starts to tell him he's amazing when she's pulled into a hug and then it's all noise until Sia walks in and she forgets how to stand.

Beca watches from the sidelines with a smirk, stepping in to apologise for her friend before she's forced into her own hug. "Sup, Davey."

 _Yeah, she was never going to hear the end of this one._


End file.
